NEW ORLEANS (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — The Voodoo Music Experience takes the term musical diversity to a whole new level with this year’s eclectic line-up. In addition to heavy-hitting headliners, ranging from the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Flaming Lips to Duran Duran, this year’s weekend-long concert will build upon the relationship forged with radio station WWOZ last year post Hurricane Katrina, further ensuring that there truly will be something to please music fans of all genres.
The announcement of the local line-up brings the number of performance areas to five for the annual event that has been described by AOL as New Orleans’ "signature rock festival" and "one of the top 10 music festivals in the US."
But this year, it’s about more than rock.
The latest addition to Voodoo is Flambeau, an area designed and dedicated to celebrating and passing the torch of New Orleans’ musical culture and celebrating its influences. Flambeau features two performance areas: The WWOZ/SOCO Stage and the Preservation Hall Tent, as well as six full service local restaurants, an expanded New Orleans Arts and Crafts area and a musical line-up that includes The Meters, Yerba Buena, Ozomatli, Irma Thomas, Marva Wright’s tribute to Mahalia Jackson, Kinky, Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers, Trombone Shorty and Orleans Ave, The Preservation Hall Band, The Soul Rebels, Amanda Shaw, The Brand New Heavies, Jon Cleary, Otra, Morning 40 Federation, Big Sam’s Funky Nation, The Hot 8 Brass Band, Wild Magnolia’s featuring Bo Dollis, Ernie Vincent, Rockie Charles, Wardelll Quezerque’s, The New Orleans Rhythm and Blues Review, the Rhythm Roots Drum Circle and a special tribute by New Orleans’ iconic act Cowboy Mouth.
The new Preservation Hall Tent, along with the WWOZ-SoCo stage, brings a bit of history to the relatively new, eight-year old festival. WWOZ will be broadcasting the weekend festivities to local listeners and around the world on the web (wwoz).
Ben Jaffe, Creative Director of Preservation Hall, says, "All New Orleans music shares a common African, rhythmic root. This is a unique opportunity to expose fans of the Red Hot Chili Peppers (coincidently the same name Jelly Roll Morton used for his backing band) to the music we are fortunate enough to have in New Orleans’ on a nightly basis. I can’t imagine any other festival in any other city in the world presenting this eclectic roster of bands and styles."
"The Flambeau addition is an obvious extension of Voodoo and our relationship with the local music community at this point,” says Voodoo Music Experience Founder/Producer Stephen Rehage. “It is an area to light it up and let go."
David Freedman, General Manager, WWOZ-FM, adds: “We love what Voodoo is doing and I have so much respect for them after what they did last year. They were the first event to come back to the city and managed to produce a world class festival under absurd conditions. The commitment that Voodoo has to local music is great and we have almost come to expect the same dedication every year. But this year, they’ve taken it to the next level. By continuing to support New Orleans music, they help to create awareness of the impact that local music has had on the many forms of music heard at Voodoo. We need to remember where this music comes from and that this city serves as a creative musical center. Since last year, every event like this is critical to the local music scene and the emphasis on roots music makes it that much more important.”
The annual New Orleans celebration is set to take place over its traditional Halloween weekend and concert-goers can once again look forward to a diverse line-up of talent reflecting the multitude of cultures which define the city. Music fans traveling from across the country and around the world will come together to experience a musical convergence amidst 11 lush miles of bayous and lagoons to see how the locals do Halloween–with a little help from some of the most celebrated artists in the music world today.
Concert attendees will spend a full weekend traversing the festival’s two main stages and three additional unique performance areas to experience a great range of musical talent including the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Duran Duran, Wu-Tang Clan, The Flaming Lips, My Chemical Romance, Social Distortion, Kings of Leon, Ozomatli, Secret Machines, Blue October, Pete Yorn, Kinky, Brazilian Girls, Ferry Corsten, Broken Social Scene, Drive-By Truckers, The Living Things, Jack’s Mannequin, Joseph Arthur, Yerba Buena, The Rentals and The Whigs. The special New Orleans line-up includes: Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews, Soul Rebels, Hot 8 Brass Band, Kermit Ruffin’s BBQ Brunch, Morning 40 Federation, Amanda Shaw, Cowboy Mouth and Friends, Jose Conde y Ola Fresca, Rockie Charles, Ernie Vincent, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Wardell Quezergue' New Orleans Rhythm & Blues Review, Bingo (a troupe of actors and musicians who bring their original songs to life through live performance, theatre and DIY video), Otra, Jon Cleary, Big Chief Bo Dollis and The Wild Magnolia Indians (one of New Orleans oldest Mardi Gras Indian tribes–neighborhood based tribes which celebrate a cultural hybrid of Native American and Afro-Caribbean traditions).
As previously announced, Rehage Entertainment, producers of the Voodoo Music Experience, launched a website dedicated to preserving and honoring New Orleans’ music and how its musical culture has had on imprint on music history overall. Come to the Xperience: contribute your suggestions, share your stories and discover things about this magical city. The design allows fans to self-publish their favorite locations and stories of New Orleans music and culture. Artists performing this year are joining in and are in the process of sharing stories of their first or most memorable performances and experiences in the city. – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
